RNC panel censures Michigan member over gay, Muslim remarks

The Republican National Committee's executive committee voted to censure Michigan Republican David Agema for what it calls "harmful rhetoric" about gays and Muslims.

At the outset of the RNC's winter meeting near San Diego, the panel said Michigan Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema's history of "harmful and offensive rhetoric" has no place in the party.

Last March, Agema posted on Facebook an unsubstantiated claim that gays account for half the murders in large cities. Last month, he told a Michigan county GOP committee that gay Americans tried to obtain health insurance because they risk contracting AIDS.

Agema also came under fire from the Council on American-Islamic Relations for a Facebook posting this month questioning Muslims' commitment to charity.